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Why does every non Tesla electric look so ugly? And why does every article written by supposedly competent journalists not mention how ugly literally ever other
by spectrum1234 11y ago
Why does every non Tesla electric look so ugly? And why does every article written by supposedly competent journalists not mention how ugly literally ever other electric car is when they discuss tradeoffs?
It could very well be a close race between 2-5 electric cars. But attractiveness could be another reason 1 is the big winner.
- bitmapbrother 11y agoI've also wondered this. I find it hard to believe that a designer of an electric car, other than a Tesla, can honestly think they styled a beautiful vehicle. If I were to give them the benefit of the doubt then I would say that what they initially sketched on paper and what was ultimately produced was the fault of layers of institutional bureaucracy each meddling with the design until it looked nothing like what was envisioned. There was a time when most programmers did their own art. This is reminiscent of that time.
- dj_doh 11y agoI second these comments. It feels like they want to put A-grade designers for electric cars. Same can be said for BMW i3 and (NotSo)SmartFor2. They are joke to say the least.
- superuser2 11y agoMarket segmentation. There's no good reason cheap cars have to look worse than expensive cars, except that selling a cheap but expensive-looking car would cannibalize higher-margin luxury car sales. No competitor breaks this cycle because all major competitors for middle-class cars also have luxury divisions.
- spectrum1234 11y agoThis is the best reason I've seen yet. And good evidence that startups (yes Tesla is still a startup) will always be better at exploiting inefficiencies in larger companies.
- goldenchrome 11y agoI imagine that you are right, regarding the layers of institutional bureaucracy. It's probably a mix between: "It needs to look like a Chevy", "It needs to look futuristic", and "It needs to look like other electric cars so that people know that it's electric". It also looks quite similar to the BMW i3 electric car which is inline with Chevrolet's recent push to sell luxurious looking cars at cheaper prices[1]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6cSTBeaqFM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6cSTBeaqFM
- nl 11y agoThere aren't very many fully electric cars. I think the Renault Zoe looks ok[1] though. [1] https://www.renault.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/zoe.html https://www.renault.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/zoe.html
- carlivar 11y agoThe Ford Focus Electric looks fine. I think there are other electric cars out there that are the electric version of a "typical" car. My theory is automakers want the car to stand out, even if it's ugly, since otherwise how will anyone know you are driving an electric vehicle?
- ptaipale 11y agoVW Golf is sold with the same outward chassis in electric, plug-in hybrid, regular hybrid, gasoline and diesel models. (The electric has a practical range of about 80 to 120 km, i.e. around 100 miles, so not a great success.)
- ZeroGravitas 11y agoI generally take this as a bad sign. Full-EV cars are substantially different in their requirements from ICE engined cars, not taking advantage of that just hobbles them. For example, the Tesla 3 pushes the passenger space forward and backwards to fit more people in the same space. It can do so because there's no big, heavy engine up front. Starting with a traditional car body and adding electric is just going to waste space.
- ptaipale 11y agoYes, but internally the eGolf is not quite the same structure as combustion engine models. Also the most iconic full EV car, Tesla model S, looks very much like combustion engine cars. In fact, from distance it's hard to tell it apart from a Ford Mondeo, the symbol of mediocrity (at least in the UK) which is also a fine and nicely contoured car. The more distinctly formed EV cars, on the other hand, look about as weird as Granma Duck's 1916 Detroit Electric; they have some futuristic aerodynamics but on the desirability scale, they seem to suck.
- ZeroGravitas 11y agoThe externals are driven by aerodynamics and should be converging generally. The interior is where there's a bunch of new rules in play, with the front mounted ICE being replaced with a floor of batteries and between wheel motors. That directly allows Tesla to be amongst the safest cars ever built, and to fit more passengers, more comfortably than similarly sized ICE cars. Tesla needs those advantages to balance out initial shortcoming of EV cars, at lower mass-market price points that becomes even more important.
- usaphp 11y agoBMW i8 does look really good in my opinion: http://www.bmwusa.com/bmw/bmwi/i8 http://www.bmwusa.com/bmw/bmwi/i8
- rgbrenner 11y agoYes, it looks great. But it's a hybrid. It only has a 7kwh battery and can only travel 15 mi without gas. There are plenty of normal looking hybrids these days.
- lbradstreet 11y agoOne theory is that electric cars look distinctively ugly because their owners want them to stand out as an eco friendly car. The Prius tail is an example of this. I think that it limits how mass market you can go, however it seemed to work for the Prius.
- commandar 11y agoWell, the Prius -- and a number of other vehicles -- have that shape tail for aero efficiency reasons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback
- lbradstreet 11y agoInteresting. That's a bit counter intuitive - thanks for the counter argument.
- lern_too_spel 11y agoThe reason that the Prius and the entire SUV category have sold so well is that more people care about utility than appearance. The Bolt was designed to support large cargo when necessary, and this is something that I have looked for in past purchases. http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2016/Jan/boltev/0106-boltev-design.html http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail...
- eslaught 11y agoIt's because the companies have different goals. Tesla is just trying to make a good car. Others are trying to differentiate. (Hint: the easiest way to something look different is to make it ugly.)
- ebbv 11y ago> And why does every article written by supposedly competent journalists not mention how ugly literally ever other electric car is when they discuss tradeoffs? Because unlike other things they discuss, styling is 100% subjective. What would be the point of the journalists talking about their own tastes when you are going to make your own mind up about the styling anyway? On top of that, some cars look better in some colors than others, so there's more personal taste at work there. Personally, while I really like the Model S and Model X, I found the Model 3 prototype's styling to be kinda meh in the three colors they've shown. I might still get one but it won't be because of the styling. FWIW, I currently have a Nissan LEAF in blue and I think it looks really funky and fun. But it is "abnormal", so it's polarizing. Most EVs so far are styled in a polarizing way. It just so happens you seem to fall on the "I don't like it" side of that spectrum.
- WalterBright 11y agoNobody has made a good looking car since the 60's. The wind tunnel testing has turned them all into lozenges. When I rent a car I have trouble finding it in the parking lot, as they all look the same. I admit that modern cars are better in every way other than looks. And it is amazing what 60's cars could do without a single transistor. But dang, I do like the way the 60's cars looked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f1oneqYefc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f1oneqYefc
- usaphp 11y agoEvery man to his taste. I personally think most of the 60's cars looked all the same, squared box that looked like a coffin on wheels (and drives like one too), unless you are talking about unique cars such as shelby cobra, gt40, or some ferrari like 250, the rest of the "regular" cars all looked the same. Same thing is happening today, most of the mainstream cars look alike, but if you are willing to spend more - then you have cars like maseratti, aston, lambo, ferrari, that most certainly don't look alike.
- WalterBright 11y agoWatch the clip and then say that the 68 Mustang and Charger looked like everything else on the road :-) and they were not spendy cars. The Charger, in fact, was made to appeal to the weekend blue collar drag racer. It was cheap, fast, and easy to modify. And, of course, a couple years later the E-bodies appeared from Chrysler. They were so damned good looking that Chrysler revived the style recently. I had a 67 Mustang in college, and have a 72 E-body today. I'd get a 68 Charger if I had garage space.
- CamperBob2 11y agoAll that clip did was make me want to re-watch Ronin.
- WalterBright 11y agoRonin has good driving sequences, but the cars aren't cool. The two best movies for cars are Bullitt and Grand Prix. Everything else is way, way down. Too bad, actually. I don't understand why Hollywood simply cannot make good car movies. Edit: I forgot to add in the original "Gone In 60 Seconds", not the pathetic remake.
- Joeri 11y agoActually, in its price class i think the model s isn't a particularly nice looking car. It looks cheaper than its price tag. But you're right that car makers have the unfortunate habit of making amazing ev concepts and turning them into ugly production cars, as if they assume that someone who buys electric has no taste and must be publicly shamed for it.
- pvelagal 11y agoWell, i have to disagree. Model S looks great ! well, it might not look as great as an aston martin or a maserati, but it is pretty darn close. Elon mentioned it a lot of times, it is easy to build a good looking car, but not some thing which is functional & performant & good looking, all at the same time. One might not be impressed by the simplistic design of the interior, but Model S is one heck of a car !
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- pvelagal 11y agoAbsolutely. Tesla created what i would call "regular car-looking cars". Btw, when there is no difference between a diesel engine car and a gasoline version of the same car in terms of looks, how come an electric car has to look different ? Don't the designers think for a minute, or do they suddenly lose all their aesthetic sense while designing electric cars ?
- adrianN 11y agoI don't find that car to be particularly ugly. It looks like a normal car to me. Looks are subjective, so it's not really interesting to write about them.
- SmellyGeekBoy 11y agoA guy near me has a Nissan Leaf that I see driving around multiple times per week. I don't agree that it's "ugly" at all - it looks like every other car on the road. If I didn't know what it was it wouldn't even register.